When I wrote the bar in 2022, a good friend tried to get accommodations from the LSO and had an absolutely terrible time of it. Their accommodation wasn’t extra time, just the ability to pause time when away from the test. Start the accommodation process early, it takes time.

I wonder how far they got down yesterday, since only position #31 has posted🤔

Hi all, I will preface by saying I am not really sure what I am asking for here. I think some ruthless feedback, a slap in the face, or some words of encouragement. I was called a couple years ago - I felt a strong pull towards family law throughout law school. My articling experience was trash, I had zero mentorship and saw my principal a handful of times. I was given almost every family file to figure out on my own. The senior lawyer took the family litigation files and never invited me to attend or learn. I never went to court or got that exposure or experience. I did a huge amount of self-studying and enjoyed learning the how-to's of family law. OC would occasionally compliment me on my work and most of my clients were very pleased with my work. When the firm offered me an associate position, I provided a proposal of things I would need to feel confident remaining at the firm, which culminated in me leaving the firm the same day as my bar call. I foolishly had not done any networking throughout my articling and therefore had no network to fall back on - several local lawyers offered me jobs, but I always had someone else whispering in my ear that it would be terrible to work there, that they were not a good lawyer, etc. Almost two years into this, I can now acknowledge that I live in an area with some serious toxicity amongst the local bar. Anyway, I was on the struggle bus and with seemingly only crappy prospects available to me, I decided to throw up my own shingle. I know this freaks many lawyers out hearing that a fresh call did this - please know that I was very selective in the files that I took and always referred out anything I did not feel competent enough to assist with. This meant not taking on any court work, as I felt it would be a disservice to my clients since I had no experience in that area. I lived off of peanuts, and continued networking. Finally, a seemingly fantastic opportunity presented itself - a very established sole was looking for some new blood to train up and transfer his firm over to. Unfortunately, this was mostly bullshit, and I was once again on my own at the firm - this time with no meeting room to see clients in and one paralegal who had no time for me. I had no mentorship and was in fact cleaning up a lot of the stinky files that had fallen into oblivion. I was paid shit, and treated like shit.  A few weeks ago I decided I had to leave before I became a shell of a human. I still feel pulled to family, but my experience in the profession to this point has led me to this awful place of decision paralysis where I don't know where to go next - I am terrified at the thoughts of going to court - I have a visceral reaction when I receive an email from a client or a call from OC - everything suddenly feels so combative and aggressive. I can't imagine joining another firm and going through the same thing again. I have been attending counselling, I recognize these are signs that I need some support. I have been offered a few jobs in different areas of law but feel in my gut that family is the only area that will actually fulfill me if I am going to stay in this profession. I am very close to leaving the legal profession in general, which makes me feel like a quitter, but I have had my ass handed to me since day one and I am getting close to being done with all of it. It's difficult not to feel a sense of envy when I meet colleagues who had amazing post-call experiences, excellent mentorship, etc.   I guess I am just wondering if anyone has had similar experiences, how they got themselves out of the proverbial rut, if anyone can speak to whether they have a fulfilling family law practice, resources or ideas for getting court exposure, or if someone could give me virtual hug and remind me there are good lawyers out there rooting for the juniors. Thank you. 🙂

The accommodation forms are public so you can check them out, difficulty is another matter. Trying to discern how the LSO weighs your doctor's opinion is a bit beyond me. But from the nature of the paperwork I'd say they aren't too liberal with it.

I will likely be accepting

I’d have to double check some old bills, but I don’t think you’re getting substantially cheaper representation in Japan. In HK you’re probably working with a UK or US firm anyway. Singapore is cheaper than Canada, but not by a lot. Korean billable hour rates might be lower - would need to check - but they also have that secret sauce that somehow ends up driving a bill up every time with 8+ lawyers staffed where 4 competent ones would suffice. Mideast you might be working with a US firm. SA would always be cheaper than Canada. Cayman/BVI isn’t far off.

To be fair, most NY PE associates would tell you we’re pretty shocked by how many lawyers Bay firms (…some in particular…) staff on a deal. I still don’t really understand why as lead counsel I can do with 4 lawyers while Toronto as local counsel in one jurisdiction among a half dozen needs 8 or whatever. UK and Canadian firms both seem to staff up a lot heavier than elsewhere.  Also, I’m kind of confused by your description here. If NY was acting as lead counsel, what exactly were they doing if not negotiating and handling the SPA? Local counsel usually just checks some boxes for local legal points - it’s not heavy lifting.